EU & Labour Law
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Swedish strip club lost the first round
The ban on night work for employees at the strip club still applies, despite the fact that they created a trade union that entered into a collective agreement with the club’s owner, Flirt Fashion AB, for an exemption from the Working Hours Act.
2 minutes -
A “Laval 2.0” case underway before the Swedish Labour Court?
Can Swedish trade unions take industrial action against foreign companies to make them pay occupational pensions for their posted workers? That is the question in a new case before the Swedish Labour Court, which bears similarities to the notorious Laval case that had far-reaching consequences for the Nordic countries.
3 minutes -
Collective bargaining – where exactly does the EU stand?
Will there be any real change when the EU now aims to promote collective bargaining at all levels – or is it just pretty words? This was one of the questions discussed at a Nordic conference on current EU issues at the end of 2024.
5 minutes -
AFI and Arbeidsliv i Norden: A Nordic view of working life
The Norwegian Work Research Institute AFI turns 60 this year. For 24 of those years, the institute has published Arbeidsliv i Norden (the Nordic Labour Journal) on commission from the Nordic Council of Ministers.
6 minutes -
Swedish strip club challenges ban on night work
Should the employees at the strip club Club Heartbeat be allowed to work all night? No, says the Swedish Work Environment Authority. Yes, says the club’s owner, referring to a new collective agreement that allows exceptions to the Working Hours Act.
2 minutes -
Nordic governments’ sigh of relief as collective bargaining rights still intact
Pilots and cabin crew do not perform work of equal value, thus it is not discriminatory when pilots receive higher travel allowances. This was the somewhat anticlimactic ruling from the EU Court of Justice in a case that Sweden and Denmark feared would set a precedent that could threaten the right to free collective bargaining.…
2 minutes -
Mixed Nordic reception for EU traineeship directive
Once again, the European Commission is proposing regulations on matters that the member states manage best themselves, argues the Swedish parliament. It is now submitting a “yellow card” against the Commission’s proposal for an EU directive on better conditions for trainees, put forward in spring 2024.
2 minutes -
Where does the border between the EU and the Nordic region run?
Right now is a fascinating time in Nordic and European politics. Rarely have so many things that affect the Nordics and their relationship with Europe been happening simultaneously. Some forces link the Nordic countries closer to each other and the EU, while at the same time, the boundaries for cooperation have become clearer.
4 minutes -
EU labour law after the parliamentary elections
What new labour legislation can we expect from the EU in the next five years? This depends as much on who becomes Commission President as on what the Parliament has on its wish list.
3 minutes

